Listen Up - Sketchy 4 Way Edition
Listen Date: April 22, 2020
Okay, so I’m not sure if everything here was listened to that night, and I am certain that at least one musical biscuit did not make this posting (can’t sort browser history by FIRST date visited, only last date visited). I was going round and round in circles like these two fellows…
trying to figure out how to recreate the past, assessing options to address the gaps, scolding myself for lack of foresight, and balancing the ethical implications of incomplete or even incorrect information against the lack of chonological tidiness if I were to forge ahead and return later to sort shit out. In the end, I figured that an incomplete record is better than no record at all, and so, here is the listening party from April 22, 2020, starting with the question marks.
WE MIGHT HAVE LISTENED TO a list featuring a duo named Khidja It was in the browser history, but i think i just checked out earlier that evening on my own. No recollection of what the hell it was like. Anyway, if you want to listen to some Romanian electronica, click on the pic of bicycling buddies from Bucharest. They made some.
Now I DO KNOW THAT WE LISTENED to something from Elefant Records. I have no idea what it was. But we liked it, which is not surprising. Elefant Records is a sweet label from Madrid that puts outs a load of pretty, and sometimes quirky pop.
They even have a nice collection called New Adventures In Pop that scratches a recurring itch for me… pop music that is sometimes soothing, sometimes sunny, but not vapid.
Many of Elefant’s bands are Spanish, so a great choice if you want to explore that scene, but they also have several artists from Europe, the UK and the US that have caught their ear. Check them out below.
Traum und Existenz
by KOMPROMAT
They sing in German. They might be from France (or maybe just released on a French label). They have some synths and or keyboards of some kind. With those tools, they make music that moves between being dancy, abrasive, soothing, soaring and bouncy. Usually in the same track.
With the tunes all over the place, some tracks hit one of our sweet spots, other tracks resonated with someone else, but if you enjoy 80’s synth sounds, industrially edged dance, and sweet female pop vocal stylings, there is probably something there that will tickle your fancy. And with its range, there might be a different something tomorrow.
And even though we were having, our interest had been piqued by something Jack had mentioned.
Men’s Recovery Project
This whole listening party thing started when I bought two copies of a noise record from DC, gave one to my buddy in Providence, RI (where I had first been introduced to noise music) and we listened to at the same time in two different cities. Here we have another noisy band with some geographical ties to our little group. I never knew of Men’s Recovery Project when they were in Providence. But they were there, as I used to be there, and as Ace and Jerr still are there. Then they went to NYC, where Jack is (at least during the work day and when there is something fun going on). They are presented by a label from DC. So that’s kinda cool. For the four us, anyway. Well, at least me.
Renaldo and the Loaf
As KOMPROMAT brought us to MRC, MRC delivered us unto…
And Finally for the night some Chinese post punk.
Here is the feature from Bandcamp
We didn’t listen to the whole thing, but here are a few we enjoyed: